Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to communication networks and, more particularly, to distributing digital content in communication networks.
Description of the Related Art
Content providers such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, and Verizon provide digital content to end-users over existing wired or wireless communication networks. For example, end-users may watch television shows or movies using video-on-demand or streaming services supported by the content providers. These services are very popular and may consume a significant portion of the bandwidth of the communication network during peak usage. For example, Netflix alone has been estimated to use as much as a third of the bandwidth available in the U.S. between 9 PM and midnight. Caching portions of the digital content before it is requested by end-users may reduce the strain on the network. For example, randomly selected portions of different programs may be prefetched into caches associated with different users before the users choose one or more of the different programs for viewing. If the user then selects one of the programs for viewing, only the un-cached portion needs to be transmitted over the network.